This gorgeous lakeside celebration by REBECCA HOLLIS epitomises summer weddings. Held on the surrounding grounds of the bride’s family lake cabin in Spirit Lake, Idaho, it holds special memories the both Kendall & Ari. ééòThis is the place we long for when we are home in Seattle and the place we escape to as often as we can. This is where he proposed to me, in the boat, drifting amongst the water lilies, and this is the place we will always come back to, and eventually bring our children to. It was so meaningful for us to have all of our family and friends gather here to witness our marriage and experience our favorite place on earth. It’s so amazing to be able go back whenever we want visit the place we got married.ééò
The venue itself was all it took to inspire the look of the wedding. Taking place in the grassy surroundings of an old 1875 log cabin on the lakefront, they incorporated plenty or rustic elements, but ensured it remained beautiful and romantic. Kendall says, ééòI wanted it to be intimate and comfortable, as well as elegant and memorable. We used beautiful rustic farm tables, puzzle pieced them together in the space, and put the head table right in the middle of it all. The florals incorporated tons of greenery, old, rustic bottle bud vases, garlands, barn wood planter boxes, and gorgeous blooms of ivory, peach, and blush. We gave out Pacific Northwest wildflower seed favors that we hand stamped on brown paper packets. We also gave everyone mason jar mugs that they used for their cocktail glasses for the evening, which doubled as the escort cards as well as name tags for everyone. I got beeswax taper candles for the tables and made wood round table numbers boarded with gold leaf. We also used a beautiful wooden canoe, hand made by a family friend, and filled it with ice to chill the beer and wine.ééò You can see that so many thoughtful elements came together to create a special day full of lifetime memories.
HOW DID YOU MEET? Ari and I met in college through mutual friends our freshman year. It wasn’t until two years later when he moved into a house with some of my close friends that we started to get to know each other well. We were friends for a while, and at one point, as though we were in middle school, he asked his friend to ask my friend to ask me if I was interested in him. Through the chain, word got back to him that I was not interestedééò but he kept pursuing me anyways. Eventually, somehow, he won me over and we started dating. I had never met anyone that I could spend infinite time with and never get sick of. He made me laugh and we were just so compatible on some many levels. Once we finally started dating, we fell for each other very quickly. We stayed together while I studied abroad for six months (only three months after we started dating), and we graduated college together. We moved up to Seattle together and started our life here. After six years of dating and four of those living together, Ari finally proposed to me. We were at Spirit Lake and he suggested we go pick some water lilies. They grow all over the lake and whenever we are there, we pick some and keep them in a bowl to enjoy. He was navigating the boat and I was leaning over the edge plucking the lilies out of the water, when he turned the boat off. I turned around to see what he was doing and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!
TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS: My dress was right on target with the rustic, romantic lake theme. I wore ééòDevotionééò by Claire Pettibone. People told me I looked like a beautiful lake goddess who had just emerged from the waters. I don’t know how accurate that really is, but I did feel very beautiful and very much like I belonged in the setting. I also had a beautiful green and floral headband that looked fantastic with my dress and my hair. My bridesmaids all wore the same green tea colored floor length dresses but in different styles.
WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE TO THOSE PLANNING NOW? Get everything you can done as early as possible. If you are doing DIY projects, do them as you think of them so that as the wedding approaches, all you have to do is the small things that come up last minute. It really helped me to space projects out thr
oughout the year, and to buy the things I could get ahead of time (straws, wedding favors, guestbook, etc) far in advance so I didn’t have to worry about them getting shipped in time or anything like that.
Also, really think of your guests. When planning, think about what would make them the most comfortable and get the most enjoyment out of the day. We did things like testing out chairs to see which ones were most comfortable (Chiavari chairs are NOT comfortable), making sure the cocktail, ceremony, and dinner areas would be shaded at the times the guest would be in them, and ensuring that there would be plenty of water and refreshments for everyone. And, I know everyone says it, but your wedding day really does go by so fast and it’s really hard to get time in with all of your guests. My advice is to spend as much time at your own wedding as you possibly can. Take as many photos before the wedding as possibly and stay at your wedding until the very end (we even went out with everyone to a local bar after the wedding because we had to be out of our venue at 10:30). We took all the photos except the big family photos before the wedding and only had to spend about 15 minutes after the ceremony taking photos. We also had a cocktail hour before the ceremony that Ari and I attended. I’m SO glad we did this. It really gave us time to greet everyone as they arrived and it was a nice transition for everyone into the ceremony.
Photographer REBECCA HOLLIS / Venue TESEMINI OUTING CLUB / Dress CLAIRE PETTIBONE from THE DRESS THEORY / Groom’s attire J. CREW / Wedding planner ALISA LEWIS EVENT DESIGN / Florist CARAVAN FLORAL / Caterer FEAST CATERING CO. / Dessert ERIN BLACKBURN / Hair CAMILLE SCHMIDT / Make-up JAMIE COUEY / Rentals THE ATTIC + EVENT RENTS / Invitation KATIE IRVINE / Music STAN COBBS, BRETT HUNTER & NU JACK CITY / Film scans PHOTOVISION PRINTS / Bridesmaids’ dresses FOR HER AND FOR HIM
